The Return of Love
by narnian-starkid
Summary: Sequel to QQA. Murdoch's journey back to the station, an injury, and a special visitor sends his heart swirling. Post S3, pre S4. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1: Memories Hurt

Summary: Sequel to _QQA_. Murdoch's journey back to the station, an injury, and a special visitor sends his heart swirling. Post S3, pre S4.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Murdoch Mysteries_, nor do I own any recognisable characters or situations.

Author's Note: Owing to the minor success of my first _Murdoch_ story, I present, the sequel! A warm and hearty thank you goes out to Lois who was the reviewer for QQA, so thank you very much! This story will be told in two parts, and I am currently working on the second chapter to this and the seventh chapter to my current _Narnia _story, so I am busy. Now, enough rambling, please enjoy!

**The Return of Love**

**By Fan of the Just King**

Chapter One: Memories Hurt

_(Father's cottage, country, the day after Christmas, Murdoch's POV)_

"WILL! Come on, time to get up!"

My father's voice startled me out of my peaceful world of sleep. Groaning and raising my arm to shield my eyes from the bright winter sun streaming in my window, I arose from the bed.

Dad was waiting for me when I exited my room a quarter of an hour later, fully dressed. He gazed upon me proudly; his cleanly combed hair and tidied beard still never cease to amaze me about how much someone can change in a year. I felt myself warming to him.

These last few days I've spent with him have been wonderful. My scars from the past will always be there, but Dad's gone a long way to healing the deeper wounds. He feels like my father again.

We talked quite freely over a hearty breakfast – one thing I have missed in his absence were his strawberry and honey pancakes – over things that were quite irrelevant to anything important; like my issues that I had left behind in the city.

I helped him clear up and he came to see me off – it was the end of our leave, and I was expected back at the station after lunch, if not early tomorrow.

Dad was trying his best to hide his disappointment, as was I, but he knew where my priorities were; with my work, and he had already told me he wasn't going to get in the way of that.

He stopped me before I could mount my bicycle. He turned me around so that I faced him, and smiled at me, pride and happiness shining in the grey eyes.

Forcefully, I was reminded of Julia, and I froze, my own smile slipping slightly, before Dad grasped me into a fatherly embrace.

"I never told you this before Will, but, I'll always love you, son" he whispered into my ear.

"I know Dad, I love you too" I whispered back, nodding.

He let me go and I cycled away to the main trail through the woods that would take me back to the outskirts of Toronto.

As I cycled, I allowed my mind to wander freely, as it often did, and it returned me to the place it had been back at the station.

Why hadn't Julia been in touch? Was she angry with me? Did she think I would be angry at her if she wrote to me? Did she think that it was my fault she left, and she didn't want to talk because she thought it would make me feel worse?

Well, Julia, just leaving has made me feel terrible. I only remember feeling like this once before; my first night after being taken by the nuns, and all the kids had teased me of being a child whose father didn't care for them. My eyes burned just thinking about it.

A sharp object grazed the side of my face rather hard and knocked me off balance. As I tried to keep my bicycle going in a straight line, the front tyre hit a rock and it stopped suddenly, sending me into the handle bars and onto the ground, bruised and completely winded. My ankle twisted and the bicycle landed on top of me.

Gasping for air and ignoring the dull pain in my ankle, I pushed the bicycle off of me and sat up. My sore ankle had reached a break point in pain, and dark spots were clouding my eyes. The spots got bigger and bigger as I felt myself fall back on to the ground and knew no more.

_(Two hours later)_

"Is he okay?"

"Should we send for someone?"

Whispers reverberated around me, my head pounded and my ankle seared with pain.

"Ladies, I would invite you to stand back please, this is a police matter now."

I knew that voice immediately. My eyes struggled to open, and when they did, I found myself looking straight of the tight, concerned face of George Crabtree.

"George!" I managed to croak out, relieved.

His face immediately relaxed and turned to the ladies standing around me.

"You may go now ladies, thank you" his voice was brisker that what I could remember.

After they had left, George abandoned all dignity and nearly strangled me in a hug.

"Come on sir, we should be getting back, the Inspector will be worried about us" he stood and held his hand out to me.

I took it and stood, wobbling and my leg shaking, but I stood. George saw the problem and immediately turned and offered his shoulder for me to lean on, which I gladly accepted.

"If only you'd fallen a few hundred yards down the track and a bit to the west, you would have come straight into Toronto then, instead of going down this track to the outskirts of the city. Anyway, how was your holiday sir? Mine was excellent, the seaside is amazing, much better than when I was a kid, and I met this girl there-"

George continued on in this manner for quite some time, until we reached the station. The all but forgotten about cut on my face had decided it wanted to bleed again and it took longer than we expected to get inside, because the Inspector looked to be the only one in there, but when he saw us, he opened the door and stood back, horrified.

"Murdoch, Crabtree, what happened to you two?" he asked in a concerned voice.

I stayed silent, now that I was back at the station; I was beginning to feel ashamed. I mean, I had ridden down that track numerous times and never had an issue, so why did today cause me such a problem?

"Murdoch?"

"Sir?"

They were both getting worried now, but I simply shook my pounding head and limped over to my office, shutting the door behind me.

As I watched them, they turned and started talking in low voices; no doubt George was explaining what must have happened.

Shaking my head, I turned and nearly jumped out of my skins when I saw who was standing there. A long green dress hugged a slim frame and wavy, blonde hair was tied back, though rather messily. The hands were trembling, but the smile was true, and dark blue eyes were shining with tears. My jaw dropped.

It was Julia.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2: Love Will Always Guide Us

Author's Note: Finally, this is finished. I apologise that it is shorter than I would have liked, but I couldn't think as to what else to write. Ah, the joys of the bored and tired mind. Anyway, I also have another fic in the works for this fandom, so look out for that soon. Many thanks to Lois again, and my wonderful sister for their reviews; I really do appreciate them more than I appreciate the fact that I finish my school year on Friday.

By the way, if anyone manages to get the name of the song – and movie it's from – in the rough translation of the verse in the book, without looking it up on Google, consider yourself very, very clever. Sorry, I'm all out of cookies, and I can't cook any more.

Disclaimer: Not mine and I don't think you'd gain any money by suing.

**The Return of Love**

**By Fan of the Just King**

Chapter Two: Love Will Guide Us

Staggering, I stared at her. Surely it was the concussion playing tricks on me. My most powerful desire was standing right in front of me. It just couldn't be true.

"Julia?" I whispered tentatively.

"Oh, William" she cried.

I limped over to her and caught her up in my arms, both of us crying.

Another memory pushed itself into my mind.

This time, I didn't try to stop it.

She stepped back, not minding that some of my blood was now on her face. I raised a shaking hand to try and wipe it off, but she shook her head, leaning her forehead against mine. I winced as the pressure, gentle and soft as it was, made my head pound harder.

Julia immediately stood back, raising a concerned eyebrow, her eyes performing a standing examination of my condition. By the pursing of her lips, she wasn't happy.

"William, what exactly happened to you? You look like you had a brutal fight with something."

A wave of dizziness washed over me and I felt the blood drain from my face. I gripped the edge of my desk trying to keep myself upright. After it subsided, I slowly made myself sit down in my chair.

"William?"

Her voice was soft, comforting. Amazingly, it made the pain subside a little, it gave me strength.

"I was coming back to the station after staying with – with someone – and I got distracted and a sharp tree branch cut my face. My bicycle hit a rock and I fell, my ankle twisted and the handlebars winded me" I felt heat creeping up into my cheeks again, so I looked at the ground.

A soft hand encircled mine, and squeezed it comfortingly.

I gazed up into her face, a small smile playing on my lips.

"Oh, William" she whispered softly, a small smile creeping up onto her face.

My voice now recovered, I asked the most pressing questions on my mind.

"Why are you back here? Shouldn't you still be in Buffalo?"

Julia simply continued to smile at me.

"I'm on long service leave until the end of January. So I decided to come back and visit, only the Inspector was the only one here, but he said I should wait in your office" she replied, her smile widening.

Excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach. Julia was back, until the end of next month! This was more than my best dream come true.

She smiled wider and pressed a gentle kiss to my uninjured cheek, before pushing something into my hands. I looked down at it.

It was wrapped – rather well and tidily – in simple red paper, what felt like a book or several books. I looked at Julia, who nodded eagerly. As I opened it, and the wrappings fell away, I let out a single gasp.

A handsome leather bound book sat in my hands. Intrigued, I opened it up, and found that it was a memory album. Delicately written into the imprint page, was a touching little message;

_As life moves on_

_As night takes the place of day_

_When you are by my side_

_Love will always guide us_

A small smile crept onto my lips and I felt my heart fluttering in my chest as I looked back at Julia, who gently placed an arm around my shoulders and whispered

"Merry Christmas William."

**END**


End file.
